This text presents the findings of Smith's PhD study, and offers a cultural psychology perspective on the kit drummer. A drummer himself, Smith writes in a conversational and reflexive prose which draws you into his quest to answer a burning question that I’m sure has crossed the minds of most musicians one time or another: “Why am I doing this?!”
It is stated in the introductory chapter that the aim of the study was to offer “a window into the world of drummers” intended to be of interest to scholars of “sociology of music and of music education, to music educators and to drummers”. In addition to addressing those intended objectives, it is my belief that Smith has produced one of a very few academic studies which addresses the motives, perceptions and attitudes of kit drummers. It is almost certainly the only study of its type. As such, the book should be of interest to those with an interest in the behaviour of drummers.
The book reveals rich insight about being a drummer, as lifestyle choice and as basis for self-identity. Here we have a glimpse of how drummers perceive themselves, and why they do what they do, and what is apparent from the findings is that drummers may be viewed not only as performers but also from a lifestyle marketing perspective – as consumers of music (recorded and “live”), of musical instruments and “kit”, and of music education. These are large markets which marketing literature has rarely (if ever) explored in relation to drummers. It therefore seems important that a study has been published which more precisely explains and improves understanding of “the drummer”. Such insights should be of particular interest to music educators and to the institutions which provide or sell music education.
Smith cites a broad range of literature, everything from Descartes to “rock star” autobiographies, and this works well in the context of the study. The concept of self-identity is something that Smith finds particularly interesting and one of the main outputs of this study is a framework “The Snowball Self” which aids understanding regarding the ways in which drummers learn and form their self-identity, and how identities can co-exist in different contexts. Of most interest from a marketing perspective is that Smith challenges the tendency within existing literature to lump drummers en masse into a single homogenous “community”, socio-cultural group, or market segment, approaches which he posits are based upon an inaccurate premise that to be a drummer is simply to be part of a community of practice. Smith identifies that this has led to sweeping generalisations and a common perception that is closer to caricature than to reality. Instead, his findings offer an alternative and more complex reality – far from being a singular tribe or stereotype, drummers are a much more varied group than is usually acknowledged, particularly in the ways that they learn and how they perceive themselves and each other.
Furthermore, the study posits that any attempt to understand drummers must also take into account other factors. It is here that Smith's personal writing style and ready wit work well and enables him to explore relatively sensitive issues such as gender, ethnicity and cultural heritage, in a lively and entertaining way that is rarely achieved in academic writing.
The main strength of the work is the rich use of qualitative data. By comparison the survey data and quantitative element of the study was interesting but less sophisticated, and at times raised more questions than it answered. In defence of the author, he does not appear to have intended for “the numbers” to serve any confirmatory purpose, but to open lines of enquiry which were then considered in much more depth using the qualitative data. Overall I thought that it worked well although yes, this is a text for those of us who value mixed method or qualitative research, and reflexivity.
The quality and presentation of the book is good; a nice hardback edition with a few black and white photos, mostly of the author “in action” with various bands, from a karaoke backing band to abrasive rock action with The Eruptörs. Given that the methodology of this research comprised mainly case studies and auto-ethnography a few more photographs and illustrations would have made this even better, particularly as popular music is often aesthetic by nature.
Overall, “I Drum, Therefore I am” is an original and engaging text. For marketers, the main message from the study is that “drummers” should not be a singular homogenous market segment. This is, however, an academic rather than practical text and an obvious audience is people who teach music education to kit drummers. The book should also be useful to a broader audience who teach music industry or music business courses. For scholars of marketing it is an interesting read and serves as a useful contribution towards further study into the behaviours and lifestyles of drummers, and of musicians more generally.
